Cabinet frame and door for use with quickly attachable and detachable hinges



Dec. 8; 1970 c. J. DARGENE 3,545,134

CABINET FRAME AND DOOR FOR USE WITH QUICKLY ATTACHABLE AND DETACHABLEHINGES Original Filed June 6, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l luvs/0T 0K,

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c. J; DARGENE Dec. 8, 1970 3,545,134 CABINET FRAME AND DOOR FOR USE WITHQUICKLY AI'TACHABLE AND DETACHABLE HINGES v 2 Sheets-Sheet OriginalFiled June 6, 1968 wvtwro Cqf/ Q1 Barges? cjlrromsyw United StatesPatent O 3,545,134 CABINET FRAME AND DOOR FOR USE WITH QUICKLYATTACHABLE AND DETACHABLE HINGES Carl J. Dargene, Rockford, Ill.,assignor to Amerock Corporation, Rockford, Ill., a corporation ofConnecticut Original application June 6, 1968, Ser. No. 735,127. Dividedand this application June 24, 1968, Ser. No. 739,245

Int. Cl. E06b 3/00 US. Cl. 49-501 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Acabinet includes a frame and a door each formed with specially designedslots for receiving the mounting elements of a quickly attachable anddetachable hinge adapted to connect the door swingably to the frame. Theslots permit attachment of the hinge to the door and the frame with asimple slip-in motion and enable quick and easy clamping of the hinge tothe door and the frame.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisionof my copending application entitled Quickly Attachable and DetachableHinge Assembly, filed June 6, 1968, Ser. No. 735,127.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a cabinet whichincludes a door member swingable between positions opening and closingan access opening formed in a frame member. More particularly, theinvention relates to a cabinet in which the door is hung pivotally onthe frame by hinges of the general type disclosed in the above mentionedapplication. Such hinges are adapted to be clamped to and unclamped fromthe door and the frame in an extremely quick and easy manner to enablefast installation of the hinges on the frame, to enable fast attachmentof the door to the hinges, and to enable easy replacement of the doorwith another of a different style or color.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is toprovide a cabinet having novel frame and door members which areparticularly suitable for use in conjunction with quickly attachable anddetachable hinges similar to those disclosed in the aforementionedapplication. In a more detailed sense, the invention resides in theprovision of uniquely designed slots in the door and the frame toreceive the parts of the hinges and to enable quick and easy clamping ofthe hinges to the door and frame, the slots being capable of beingformed in a comparatively simple and inexpensive manner.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS- FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of a cabinet having new and improved door and frame membersembodying the novel features of the present invention, the door beingshown in a closed position.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showingthe door detached from the frame.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one hinge and parts of the frameand the door just before the door is attached to the hinge.

3,545,134 Patented Dec. 8, 1970 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTAs shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention isembodied in a cabinet having a door member 10 hinged to a frame member11 and swingable between open and closed positions with respect to arectangular access opening 13 (FIG. 2) defined by the frame member. Thedoor 1 0 in this instance is made of wood and is mounted swingably onthe cabinet frame 11, which also is made of wood, by a pair of hinges 14attached in vertically spaced relation to one edge portion of the doorand the adjacent edge portion of the frame. The edge portion of the dooris defined in part by a front face surface 15 (FIGS. 3 and 4), aparallel rear face surface 16 and a generally perpendicular edge surface17 while the edge portion of the frame is defined by a forward facesurface 19 (FIGS. 4 and '8), a parallel rear face surface 20 and agenerally perpendicular edge surface 21. As used herein and in theappended claims, the terms generally perpendicular are intended toencompass two surfaces which are mutually angulated in the sense ofbeing approximately perpendicular and are not meant to be limited to twosurfaces disposed at exact right angles to one another.

Herein, the door 10 is of the type commonly referred to as an overlaydoor and is mounted with its rear face surface 16 opposing the forwardface surface 19 of the frame 11. In the closed position of the door, theedge surfaces 17 and 21 of the door and the frame lie in generallyparallel planes extending generally perpendicular to the plane of theopening 13.

Each hinge 14 is adapted for quick and easy clamping to the door 10 andthe frame 11 and is identical to the fully detachable hinge disclosed inmy above-identified copending application to which reference may be hadfor a more detailed description of the construction and advantages ofthe hinge itself. In brief, the hinge includes a door mounting wing 23(FIGS. 3, 4 and 7) stamped from sheet metal and positioned along therear face surface 16 of the door. A disc-like retainer 24 parallels themounting wing and is fastened to the latter by a bolt 25 extendingthrough a hole 26 in the mounting wing and threaded into a hole 27formed in the retainer. Formed integrally with and bent outwardly fromthe door mounting wing 23 is a flange 29 ('FIG. 4) extending along theedge surface 17 of the door and formed along its free edge with a curledknuckle 30 which is spaced outwardly from the forward face surface 19 ofthe frame.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 8, the hinge 14 further includes asheet metal frame mounting wing 31 positioned along the edge surface 21of the frame 11 and extending parallel to a second disc-like retainer 33formed with a projecting boss 34. A bolt 35 extends through a hole 36(FIG. 8) in the frame wing 31 and is threaded into a hole 37 in the bossto connect the frame wing and the retainer 33. Integral with the framewing 31 are two bent flanges 39 and 40, the former extending along theforward face surface 19 of the frame and the latter projecting outwardlyfrom the face surface. At its free edge portion, the flange 40 is formedwith two vertically spaced upper and lower curled knuckles 41 (FIGS. 3and 8) which interfit with the knuckle 30 on the door wing flange 29 andreceive a cylindrical hinge pin 43 serving to connect the door Wing 23and the door 10 for swinging relative to the frame wing 31 and the frame11. The hinge pin is staked at its ends and is retained permanentlywithin the knuckles so that the frame and door wings can not beseparated from one another.

As thus described, the hinge 14 is adapted for anchoring to the frame 11by tightening the bolt 35 slightly to draw the retainer 33 toward theframe wing 31 so as to clamp the frame between the retainer and thewing. Similarly, the hinge may be anchored to the door 10 by giving thebolt a slight turn in a tightening direction to clamp the door betweenthe door wing 23 and the retainer 24, the latter being drawn toward thedoor wing as an incident to tightening the bolt.

In accordance with the present invention, quick and easy mounting of thehinge 14 to the door and frame members 10 and 11 prior to clamping ofthe hinge to the members is facilitated by forming the members withslots which receive the retainers 24 and 33 and the bolts 25 and andwhich are designed in a unique manner to permit attachment of the hingeto the members with a simple slip-in motion and without need of everseparating the bolts from the retainers and the associated wings 23 and31 to effect such attachment. After the bolts and retainers have beenslipped into the slots, the bolts need only be turned slightly to clampthe hinge to the members and, as a result, there is no need of firstinstalling the wings and the retainers on the members and thenconnecting the wings to the retainers with the bolts. In addition, theretainers are concealed within the slots thereby reducing the number ofparts of the hinge that are visible and enhancing the appearance of thecabinet. The slots are capable of being formed quickly and easily and ina comparatively inexpensive manner.

More particularly and as shown most clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9, a retainerslot for receiving the retainer 33 is formed through the frame 11 andopens out of both the forward face surface 19 and the near face surface20. The slot 45 corresponds approximately in shape to the retainer 33and is defined by upper and lower end walls 46 and by closely spacedopposing side walls 47 and 48 which extend parallel to the edge surface21 of the frame. Communicating with the retainer slot 45 and formed inthe edge surface 21 of the frame is a bolt slot 50 for receiving thebolt 35. The bolt slot 50 extends through the side wall 48 of theretainer slot 45, includes open ends opening out of both the forward andrear face surfaces 19 and 20 of the frame, and is defined by upper andlower edges 51 (FIG. 8) extending in the same direction as the end walls46 but spaced vertically from one another by a distance which isconsiderably less than the vertical spacing between the end walls. Theslots 45 and 50 may be cut into the frame simultaneously with a simplerouting operation and by employing an inexpensive routing tool. As aresult of the slots extending entirely through the frame member, therouting tool can be passed rapidly through the frame member and need notbe stopped at any particular depth.

Because of the slots 45 and 50 formed in the frame 11, the hinge 14 maybe attached to the frame while the retainer 33 is held fastened to theframe wing 31 by the bolt 35 and without need of unfastening the boltand the retainer from the wing. In attaching the hinge to the frame, thehinge is simply moved rearwardly and bodily toward the front facesurface 19 of the frame to insert the retainer 33 edgewise into theretainer slot 45 from the forward open end thereof and to position theframe mounting wing 31 alongside the edge surface 21. As the retainer 33is slipped into the retainer slot 45, the bolt 35 and the boss 34 moveinto the forward open end of the bolt slot 50 and assume in the boltslot the positions shown in FIGS. 4 and 9. Thereafter, the hinge may beanchored rigidly to the frame simply by tightening the bolt 35 slightlyto draw the retainer 33 tightly against the side wall 48 and to clampthe frame wing 31 to the edge surface 21. Accordingly, there is no needfor the installer of the hinge to insert the bolt 35 into the hole 36 inthe frame wing 31 and then to thread the retainer 33 onto the bolt. Byloosening the bolt through a slight turn, the hinge may be quickly andeasily detached from the frame. In the installed position of the hinge,the boss 34, being located in the bolt slot 50, helps fill up the latterto improve the appearance of the frame when the door 10 is open. Also,the boss engages the edges 51 of the bolt slot 50 to prevent turning ofthe retainer 33 when the bolt 35 is tightened or loosened.

Routed slots cut simultaneously by a routing tool also are formed in thedoor 10 for receiving the retainer 24 and the bolt 25 to enableattachment of the hinge 14 to the door in a manner similar to that bywhich the hinge is attached to the frame 11. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, aretainer slot 55 of generally rectangular cross-section for receivingthe retainer 24 is formed in the door and opens out of the edge surface17 of the door. The retainer slot 55 is defined by a closed wall 56(FIG. 4), upper and lower straight and continuous end walls 57 (FIG. 7)and by closely spaced opposing side walls 59 and 60 which extendparallel to the face surfaces 15 and 16 of the door. The routing toolforms the end wall 56 with a curved configuration, as shown in FIG. 5,and the wall 56 curves continuously around from the upper wall 57 to thelower wall 57. Formed in the rear face surface 16 of the door forreceiving the bolt 25 is an elongated bolt slot 61 extending throughpart of the side wall 60 into communication with the retainer slot 55and defined in part by upper and lower edges 63 (FIG. 5) and by an openend which opens out of the edge surface 17 of the door. Disposedopposite the open end of the slot 61 is a closed end wall 62 (FIG. 5)which curves continuously around from the upper edge 63 to the loweredge 63. The curved wall 62 is concentric with the curved wall 56, isformed on a smaller radius than the wall 56, and is disposed nearer tothe edge surface 17. The edges 63 extend in the same direction as theend walls 57 of the retainer slot 55 but are spaced apart a distanceless than the spacing between the end walls. Also, it will be noted thatneither the retainer slot 55 nor the bolt slot 61 extends completelythrough the door and thus the continuity and attractiveness of theforward face surface 15 of the door is preserved.

With the foregoing arrangement, attachment of the door 10 to the hinge14 on the frame 11 may be effected while the retainer 24 is heldfastened to the door mounting wing 23 by the bolt 25 as shown in FIG. 3.To attach the door, the latter simply is moved edgewise toward the hingeto position the door mounting wing 23 alongside the rear face surface 16of the door and to cause insertion of the retainer 24 into the retainerslot 55 through the open end thereof. As an incident to insertion of theretainer 24 into the retainer slot 55, the bolt 25, in effect, passesinto the open end of the elongated bolt slot 61 and assumes a positionspaced from the open end as shown in FIG. 4. Thereafter, the bolt 25 issimply given a slight turn in a tightening direction to clamp the doormounting wing 23 firmly to the rear face surface 16 of the door and todraw the retainer 24 into tight engagement with the side wall 60 of theretainer slot 55 thereby to clamp the door between the wing and theretainer and to attach the door securely to the hinge. Turning of theretainer 24 during tightening of the bolt 25 is prevented by engagementof the retainer with the end walls 57 of the retainer slot 55. If it isdesired to remove the door, it is necessary only to loosen the bolt 25slightly to unclamp the mounting wing 23 and the retainer 24 from thedoor. The door then may be moved edgewise away from the hinge with thelatter remaining attached to the frame 11.

It thus will be apparent that the provision of the slots 45, 50 and 55,61 in the frame 11 and door 10, respectively, permits installation ofthe hinge 14 on the frame with a simple slip-in motion and enables thedoor to be attached simply by slipping the door onto the hinge. Sincethe slot-s eliminate the need of ever removing the bolts 25 and 35 fromthe wings 23 and 31 and the retainers 24 and 33, the bolts and theretainers may be assembled to the wings by the hinge manufacturer andthus the hinge installer is not required to insert the bolts through thewings and then thread the retainers onto the bolts. Also, the hingemanufacturer may permanently captivate the bolts to the wings andpermanently captivate the retainers to the bolts to enable packaging,shipment and marketing of the entire hinge as a unitary assembly orself-contained unit. For this purpose, an enlarged annular captivatingcollar 65 (FIG. 4) is formed around the shank of each bolt adjacent thehead thereof to prevent withdrawal of the bolt from the hole in therespective mounting wing while still permitting turning the bolt. Also,the metal at the end of each bolt is deformed or spread outwardly asindicated at 66 in FIG. 4 thereby to prevent the bolt from backing outof the hole in the associated retainer. Thus, the mounting wings, thebolts and the retainers are prevented from becoming separated from oneanother, and the hinge may be sold as a unitary assembly with no loosefasteners being required to eifec attachment of the hinge to the doorand the frame.

To advantage, the slots 55 and 61 in the door are sized to permitadjustment of the door through wide ranges, both vertically andlaterally, relative to the hinge 14 to permit fast and easy alinement ofthe door into a correct position with respect to the cabinet opening 13in case the cabinet frame 11 is racked or out of square. To these ends,the retainer slot 55 and the bolt slot 61 are made slightly larger thanthe retainer 24 and the bolt 25, respectively, to allow limited floatingof the retainer and the bolt within the slots to the positions necessaryto permit proper alinement of the door. Once the door has been alinedand the bolt 25 tightened, the retainer 24 and the mounting wing 23 areclamped rigidly to the door to hold the latter in its adjusted position.

More specifically and as shown in FIG. 7, the spacing between the endWalls 57 of the retainer slot 55 in the door 10 is approximately A3"greater than the spacing between the corresponding edges of the retainer24- and, in addition, the spacing between the edges 63 of the elongatedbolt slot 61 is at least A" greater than the diameter of the bolt 25. Asa result, before the bolt is tightened, the door may be shiftedvertically relative to the bolt and the retainer to enable accuratepositioning of the upper and lower edges of the door relative to thecorresponding edges of the cabinet opening 13. Moreover, the depth ofthe retainer slot 55 (i.e., the horizontal distance between the closedwall 56 and the open end of the slot) is approximately A" greater thanthe horizontal dimension of the retainer 24 and this, in conjunctionwith the elongated open-ended slot 61 for receiving the bolt 25, enableslocation of the door in various lateral positions with respect to thehinge 14 while still permitting clamping of the door to the hinge. Withthe door being laterally and vertically adjustable on the hinge, thedoor can be fitted properly to the frame 11 even though the frame is ina racked condition. Preferably, the slots 45 and 50 in the frame alsoare made somewhat larger than the retainer 33 and the boss 34,respectively, to allow limited floating of the retainer 33 for purposesof affording an even wider range of adjustment. With the slots enlarged,the location of the routing is not extremely critical and can be off asmuch as ,5 without causing improper mounting of the door on the hinge.

It should be noted that the provision of the slots 45, 50 and 55, 61eliminate the need of gang drilling the frame 11 and the door 10 toreceive threaded wood screws. Also, the retainer 24 is concealed in theslot 55 in the door and does not detract from the appearance of thecabinet.

Because of the ease and rapidity with which the slots 45, 50 and 55, 61permit attachment and detachment of the hinge 14, the hinge need not beattached to the door 10 or the frame 11 at the cabinet manufacturingplant but, instead, can be attached easily by a distributor, a dealer,an installer or even the ultimate user. As a result, the doors andframes may be shipped separately and without any attached hinge hardwarethus resulting in less damage in transit to the doors and the frames.More over, since the slots facilitate easy attachment and detachment ofthe hinge, it is feasible for a distributor or dealer to stock a basicline of cabinet frames and to apply doors with a style and color of thecustomers choosing thus reducing the amount of cabinet inventoryrequired to carry a full line of cabinet designs. The hinge may beattached and detached any number of times without any possibility of thedoor and frame material being stripped by threaded wood screws since thebolts 25 and 35, instead of being screwed into the wood, are threadedinto the retainers 24 and 33 concealed within the slots 55 and 45. Eachpair of slots may be formed in a simple manner and with a single pass ofa suitable routing tool.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cabinet door 10) having an edge portion defined in part by arelatively narrow edge surface (17) and by a wide face surface (16)extending generally perpendicular to said edge surface (17), a firstslot (55) having an open end opening out of said edge surface (17 andbeing defined in part by substantially straight and continuous upper andlower opposed end walls (57) and by two closely spaced opposing sidewalls (59, 69), said first slot (55) having a closed end disposedopposite said open end and defined by a curved wall (56) which begins atsaid upper end wall (57) and curves continuously around to said lowerend wall (57), a second slot (61) formed in said face surface (16) andextending through part of one of said side walls (60) into communicationwith said first slot (55), said second slot (61) having an open endopening out of said edge surface (17 and being defined in part by upperand lower edges (63) extending substantially in the same direction assaid end walls (57) and spaced apart a distance less than the spacingbetween said end walls (57), and said second slot (61) having a closedend disposed opposite the open end of such slot and defined by a curvedwall (62) which begins at said upper edge (63) and curves continuouslyaround to said lower edge (63).

2. A cabinet door as defined in claim 1 in which said upper and lowerend walls (57) extend parallel to one another and to said upper andlower edges (63), said curved walls (56, 62) being concentric with oneanother and merging gradually with said end walls (57) and said edges(63), and said curved wall (56) of said first slot (55) being formed ona greater radius than said curved wall (62) of said second slot (61).

3. A cabinet door as defined in claim 2 in which the spacing between thecurved wall (56) of said first slot (55) and said edge surface (17 isgreater than the spacing between the curved wall (62) of said secondslot (61) and said edge surface (17).

4. A cabinet member (10) having a first surface (17 and having a secondsurface (16) extending generally perpendicular to said first surface, afirst slot (55) having an open end opening out of said first surface(17) and being defined in part by first and second opposed end walls(57) and by two closely spaced opposing side walls (59, 60), said firstslot (55) having a closed end disposed opposite said open end anddefined by a curved wall (56) which begins at said first end wall (57)and curves around to said second end wall (57), a second slot (61)formed in said second surface (16) and extending through part of one ofsaid side walls (60) into communication with said first slot (55), saidsecond slot (61) having an open end opening out of said first surface(17) and being defined in part by first and second edges (63) extendingsubstantially in the same direction as said end walls (57) and spacedapart a distance less than the spacing between said end walls (57), andsaid second slot (61) having a closed end disposed opposite the open endof such slot and defined by a curved wall (62) which begins at saidfirst edge (63) and curves around to said second edge (63).

5. A cabinet member as defined in claim 4 in which said first and secondend walls (57) .extend parallel to one another and to said first andsecond edges (63), said curved Walls (56, 62) being concentric with oneanother and merging gradually with said end walls (57) and said edges(63), and said curved wall (56) of said first slot (55) being formed ona greater radius than said curved wall (62) of said second slot (61) andbeing spaced' further from said first surface (17).

'6. A member having a first surface 17) and having a second surface (16)extending generally perpendicular to said first surface, a first slot(55) having an open end opening out of said first surface (17) andhaving a closed end (56) disposed opposite said open end, said firstslot (55) having closely spaced opposing side walls (59, 60) and havingfirst and second parallel end walls (57) extending along continuouslystraight lines from the open end of said first slot (55) to the closedend (56) thereof, a second slot (61) formed in said second surface (16)and extending through part of one of said side walls (60) intocommunication with said first slot (55), said second slot 61) having anopen end opening out of said first surface (17) and having a closed end(62) disposed opposite said open end, and said second slot 61) havingfirst and second edges (63) spaced apart a distance less than thespacing between said end walls (57 and extending in the same directionas said end walls (57) and along continuously straight lines from theopen end of said second slot (61) to the closed end (62) thereof.

7. A cabinet comprising a frame member (11) having an edge portiondefining an access opening (13), said edge portion being defined bysubstantially parallel face surfaces (19 and 20) disposed in planesgenerally parallel to the plane of the access opening (13) and by agenerally perpendicular edge surface (21) disposed in a plane generallyperpendicular to the plane of the access opening (13) a first slot (45)spaced inwardly from said edge surface (21), extending completelythrough said edge portion, and opening out of both of said face surfaces(19 and 20), said first slot (45) being defined by upper and loweropposed end walls (46) and by two closely spaced opposing side walls(47, 48), a second slot (50) formed in said edge surface (21) andextending through part of one of said side walls (48) into communicationwith said first slot (45 said second slot (50) extending completelythrough said edge portion and opening out of both of said face surfaces(19 and 20), and said second slot (50) being defined by upper and loweredges (51) extending in the same direction as said end walls (46) andspaced apart a distance less than the spacing between said end walls(46).

8. A cabinet having a frame member (11) defining an 8 access opening(13) and having a door member (10) hinged to said frame member adjacentsaid access opening to swing between open and closed positions, saidmembers (10, 11) each having an edge portion defined in part by a facesurface (16, 19) and by a generally perpendicular edge surface (17, 21)with the edge surfaces of the two members, in the closed position ofsaid door member (10), lying in substantially parallel planes extendinggenerally perpendicular to the plane of said access opening (13), firstslots (55, 45) formed in the edge surface (17) of said door member (10)and in the face surface (19) of said frame member (11) with each slothaving an open end opening out of its respective surface, each slot (55,45) being defined in part by upper and lower opposed end walls (57, 46)and by two closely spaced opposed side walls (59, 60 and 47, 48), saidslot (55) in said door member (10) having a closed end disposed oppositesaid open end'and defined by a curved wall (56) which begins at theupper end wall (57) of the slot (55) and curves around to the opposinglower end wall (57), second slots (61, 50) formed in the face surface(16) of said door member (10) and in the edge surface (21) of said framemember (11) with each second slot (61, 50) communi eating with the firstslot (55, 45) in the respective member (10, 11) through one of said sidewalls (60, 48), the second slot (61) in said door member (10) having anopen end opening out of the edge surface (17 of the door member andhaving a curved closed wall (62) disposed opposite said open end, thesecond slot (50) in said frame member (11) having an open end openingout of the face surface (19) of the frame member, and each of saidsecond slots (61, 50) being defined at least in part by upper and loweredges (63, 51) extending substantially in the same direction as theend-walls ('57, 46) of the respective slots and spaced apart a distanceless than the spacing between said end walls.

9. A cabinet as defined in claim 8- in which said frame member (11)includes a second face surface (20) paralleling said one face surface(19) of said frame member, each of said slots (45, 51) in said framemember (11) extending completely through the edge portion of the framemember and opening out of both face surfaces (19, 20) of the framemember.

10. A cabinet as defined in claim 8 in which said upper and lower endwalls (57) of said first slot (55) in said door member (10) extendparallel to one another and to the upper and lower edges (63), of saidsecond slot (61) in such member, said curved walls (56, 62) beingconcentric with one another and merging gradually with thelast-mentioned end walls (57) and edges (63), and said curved wall (56)of said first slot (55) in said door member (10) being formed on agreater radius than said curved wall (62) of said second slot (61) insaid door member (10) and being spaced further from said edge surface(17 of said door member (10).

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,681,032 8/1928 Fuller 16 -149BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R. 494,02

